The Witchfinder has come to Camelot
by fanoffanfiction88
Summary: It's just another day in Camelot when the Witchfinder comes and mixes everything up, will Merlin be able to keep his secret?,will Arthur disobey his father yet again?  and will everyone make it through this ordeal unburned?
1. Chapter 1

_Now I know that this has already been done on the show but I wanted to do it again and make a different story out of it, it's set after Morgana has tried to take over Camelot and the episode where the Witchfinder came to Camelot never happened. This is my first Fanfiction that I have ever done so I hope you enjoy!_

_P.S: I do not own __**anything**__, Merlin belongs entirely to the BBC. _

He knew he should have been up about half an hour ago but he just couldn't seem to draw himself away from the bed, even the small amount of warmth the thin sheet gave him was a relief from the bitter cold all around. _Arthur will kill me if I don't get him his breakfast soon. _He thought and with a resigned sigh he decided to get up. As he pulled the sheet away from him and the cold wind from the window hit his bare skin he shivered, he took off his nightclothes and pulled on his shirt and trousers with speed but by the time he hurried out the door he knew he was already late.

It was the dead of winter in Camelot, snow dusted the castle and icicles hung in doorways and off windowsills, Merlin hurried through the castle dodging maids and staff. He ran down to the kitchens to fetch Arthur's breakfast, said a quick hello to the cooks and then almost sprinted to the door. He balanced the tray of food in one hand then quickly opened the door with the other, (obviously not bothering to knock) as usual Arthur sat at his table, fully dressed, with his arms crossed and his you-better-have-a-good-excuse face on. "Erm… surprise?" said Merlin in a slightly shaky voice though not because he was afraid of the prince, more to do with the fact that his teeth where chattering from the cold. "_Mer_lin_, _you better have a good explanation for being late this time, and stop chattering your teeth it's rather annoying."

"Sorry Arthur but it's freezing, you can't expect me to be able to change my body temperature at will and the reason I was late was because….. ummm"

"Don't bother Merlin, I already know that you slept in and I will devise a fitting punishment. Do you know how long I have waited for you to bring me breakfast? Father will be furious if I am late to meet our guest." Arthur said in his I'm-a-prince-and-I'm-better-than-you tone of voice

Merlin put the tray of food down on the table, as Arthur ate he proceeded to tell his servant all of the chores that needed to be done. "When this meeting is over I need you to clean my room, wash my clothes, shine my armor, polish my boots, sharpen my sword and for being late you can muck out the stables." Merlin moaned and said under his breath. "Clot-pole" and then

"What, I'm coming with you! Since when?"

"Since you became my servant _Mer_lin, honestly sometimes I wonder if you would forget your own head if I didn't remind you it was there each morning." Arthur said as a small smile spread across his face. Merlin didn't pay any attention and was getting increasingly worried about how little time he now had to complete the large number of chores he had. "But Arthur nothing goes on in these meetings and thanks to you I have loads of work…. Arthur, why are you smiling like that?"

"You are very slow aren't you Merlin?" Arthur said as he threw a large goblet at him. THWACK "Owwww!" Merlin wined as he rubbed his head. "What was that for?"

"Oh stop being a girl Merlin, I barely put any force behind that throw!"

"Yeah_ barely_, some people aren't as thick as you knights" Merlin muttered under his breath.

"I heard that Merlin!" Arthur tried to look at him sternly but Merlin could tell by the slight twitching of his lips that he found his remark funny. "Prat" Merlin answered playfully.

"Anyway we better get to the throne room now before our _guest_ arrives" Arthur said the word _guest_ as though he felt mild disgust towards this person but tried to hide it.

"What's so special about this person where meeting? Who are they?" Merlin asked.

"My father has decided that Camelot needs to be cleaned of magic once more, he is convinced that since the 'incident with **Morgana** magic has leaked into the city again. He has invited an old friend of his who helped him during the 'great purge' The **Witchfinder**"

Merlin froze. _A Whichfinder is coming here! Oh no, I must tell Gaus._ "Um sire, before we go to the meeting could I quickly speak to Gaus? There is something of great importance that I need to tell him."

"Of course, If your quick" Arthur didn't miss the note of hysterics in Merlin's voice.

Merlin was out the door before Arthur had a chance to see the expression on his face, which was lucky because if he had it could have confirmed his suspicions.

_Is Merlin scared of the Witchfinder? _Arthur thought.

_Why?_

**Hope you liked it! **

**Reviews make me continue writing so please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry it took so long. I hope you enjoy it as much as the first!_

_P.S: __**I DO NOT OWN MERLIN! **__(Just to make it clear)_

Merlin ran faster than he had ever ran before, he burst into the physicians quarters and almost knocked over a whole table of medicine. "Oh hello Merlin" Gaus said looking up from a book, then seeing Merlin's face he stood. "What's wrong? Is someone injured?" Merlin just stood, hands on knees for a moment as he caught his breath. "A Witchfinder's coming to Camelot" He panted .

Merlin watched a variety of emotions play across his guardians face, surprise, sadness, disbelief then it settled on worry. "Then we better keep you out of his way Merlin, he is a professional. He can sense magical power like no one else, if he gets too close…" Then the physician looked at Merlin properly, he was as white as a ghost and looked as though he was about to pass out at any minute. "Sit down Merlin before you fall off your feet"

"Can't" He said simply, seeming to have recovered from his sprint across the castle. " If I don't hurry then Arthur will come and get me" An idea had hit him. "but if I somehow become very ill very quickly then….."

"The Witchfinder will just come over here and search the place." Gaus finished. Merlin sighed, realizing what he would have to do. "Then I suppose I'll just have to hope he doesn't notice me and act as normal"

"I'm afraid that's all you can do, now hurry back to Arthur before he get's suspicious" Gaus said with a worrying glance. "Well that's not too hard, all I have to do is act as though my life isn't in danger of being cut short every second I'm near him" Merlin answered sarcastically and ran out the door.

"Be careful Merlin" Gaus shouted after him.

"Ah there you are Merlin, took your time didn't you?" The prince said. "Anyway we need to go to the throne room before our _guest_ arrives so come on" Arthur started walking to the throne room and Merlin as usual trailed behind with a completely normal string of complaints and insults. Even so, Arthur thought there was something off with Merlin, perhaps it was that his voice was a little shaky or that he was more fiddly than usual.

Arthur took his usual place next to his father and Merlin stood next to Gaus, looking ever so slightly paler than usual. A man wearing old dirt-caked clothes came walking in, his face partly hidden by a large leather hat that he wore. Trailing behind him was a cage. You could almost hear the sounds of sorrow that once came from that cage, almost see the hate and gruesome enjoyment that went into making it. Merlin shuddered, suddenly feeling sick even though he hadn't eaten anything.

"Ah, you come at last my dear friend" King Uther greeted warmly, stepping out of his throne and shaking his hand warmly. "It is a great pleasure to see you again also Uther, even if the reason I am here is not. I see Camelot is once again infested with magic users and I will do all I can to make this city safe and clean once more."

Merlin felt as though he had just been insulted, which when he thought about this later he had.

The meeting was going as they usually did, the _guest _carried on in a cold tone about exactly how awful and foul people with magic really are and how they will be dealt with accordingly. Uther looked down upon him and nodded his head in a kingly fashion while everyone in the room could have sworn that it was getting a little warm in here even though it was the dead of winter. After all the _pleasantries_ where over, King Uther decided to speak more in private and ordered that everyone except Arthur, his servant Merlin, King Uther and the _guest_ to leave them and carry on with their work. Everyone filed out of the room more quickly than thought possible, there was just something about this man that seemed to make the hair on the back of their necks stand on end.

Once all the unwanted people had left the room, a quiet descended on the few left. Not the peaceful kind of silence, more like the split second of eerie silence that you hear before a battle, the kind that makes you feel like turning and running as fast as you can in the other direction. For Arthur and Uther this feeling was something that they simply brushed off as just a part of this man's personality but for merlin it was different. He could feel the death and sorrow this man carried, this man was a killer of many kin. _And _Merlin thought, _a killer of innocents as well I imagine_.

"Ah Arthur, this is the _guest_ that I was telling you about yesterday. I don't believe you have met him before, Arthur this is my dear friend _Worferio_ although I call him _Wolf_. _Wolf_ this is my son and only heir to the throne Prince Arthur."

"An honor to meet you _Worferio,_ any friend of my father's is a friend of mine." Arthur greeted him, although his voice was cold and emotionless. There was no warmth in his voice. In his mind Arthur detested these men, how they enjoyed killing for fun. "A pleasure to meet you too Prince Arthur." The man said, the voice was crackly like paper but sounded as strong as brick.

"Now, how do you wish to start this cleansing of Camelot _Wolf_?" said Uther as though he where talking about washing or dusting , not **killing**.

"Well, usually I start by searching the lower towns and then any suspects I will question and deal with _accordingly_. His mouth turned up slightly as a cruel smile crept onto his lips.

"Then" he continued. "I will probe into the minds of every servant and advisor to make sure they carry no magic in their blood, If they do then they will be burned."

King Uther nodded.

"How can you tell if there is Magic in their blood?" Uther asked pointedly and although the question was blunt Merlin was curious also.

"Well your highness I have an eye for these people, sort of like a sixth sense, I can also tell if magic has been used recently and if it helps you at all with wondering if there is much magic in this castle, I can sense that powerful magic has been used in many times even in this room. I believe there is someone that works for you sire that has very powerful magic, he has been spoken of in legends and prophesies many times."

"Well who is this _sorcerer _whom you speak of? What is their name?" Uther said, a disbelieving look on his face. How could a _sorcerer_ with so much power live undetected within Camelot's walls?

"He is known to the druids as _**Emrys**_. He is said to be so powerful that he can move mountains without saying a single word and sire he is not a _sorcerer _he is in fact a **warlock**." Any other person who spoke the legends would not be able to help sounding awed but he managed to say the legends as though they where the most disgusting thing he had ever heard, he said the name _**Emrys**_ with such venom that Merlin almost thought about running.

"Enough of that though they are merely rumors, I will start by searching the castle but first may I have a look around at all the servants chambers. I think that a servant would be the perfect disguise for a _sorcerer _or **warlock **and through many other kingdoms this has in fact been the case." As _Wolf_ said this he smiled threateningly at Merlin from under his hood.

"And if you don't mind sire I think it would be best to start with the servants that are closest to you, that is you and your sons servants sire." _Wolfs _smile widened to reveal a set of sharp pointed teeth. _Well that may be the reason he is called wolf then._ Merlin reasoned, definitely thinking about running now.

Although Merlin always thought that the Prince was unobservant, he had in fact been paying very close attention to his servant for the majority of the meeting. He had seen the involuntary shudders, the dark frown, the look of complete shock but the most confusing of all was when at some point during the man's story about the mighty _**Emrys**_ he could have sworn Merlin was laughing_. Now why would that be... he wondered._

Arthur still thought that he was being a little paranoid about this whole _merlin watch _thing that he had been doing all morning, sure Arthur didn't like this man and he gave him the creeps but he didn't _scare _him. But Arthur (as usual) brushed the thought away and thought of it as his imagination getting a little out of hand and he eased into his usual routine of almost completely ignoring Merlin altogether. _Ah, _thought Arthur_ this is the way I am meant to act, no more attention on Merlin. You where nervous that's all, you let your irrational thoughts take over your normal thinking._

If only he knew it was the other way around.

_If_ _only._

_**So I hope you liked it! Sorry it took so long, I'm just a slow writer I guess.**_

_**Anyway hope you enjoyed it.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW! **_


	3. Chapter 3

_HIP HIP HORRAY!_

_Next chapter is up, hope you enjoy it. _

_Merlin is owned by the BBC, I don't own anything. _

So for the rest of the day _Wolf_ followed Merlin around the castle as he did all of his chores that Arthur had set him. He washed the clothes, let them dry in the sun, shined his shoes, cleaned his bedroom, dressed him in his armor, watched Arthur practice with the other knights, got beaten up quite a bit by the prat himself, polished his armor and removed any dents from it, got his lunch from the kitchens, folded and put away the newly dried and cleaned clothes, cleaned his room _again_, went to Gaus's chambers to get some things to heal the small bruises and cuts from training, went out to the woods to pick herbs for Gaus, cleaned out the leech tank before the physician asked, then collapsed onto a chair just in time to eat the dinner Gaus had been preparing. His stomach growled and he wolfed it down without even tasting it, he then stood up reluctantly, his back slouched from exhaustion and stress and walked out the door without even saying goodbye to Gaus. Too tired to speak and too stressed out to care.

He had been followed the whole day by that horrible old man and felt as though he was going to go insane if he had to go through with it again tomorrow. Sure, he could handle doing all of his chores (just about) but what he couldn't handle was the fact that a beady pair of dark, cold eyes where following his every movement, it made him feel on edge and also made him wonder why he was following **him** and not any of the other servants. Not even the Kings.

In the evening when Merlin went down to the kitchen for the third time that day, _Wolf _finally gave in and decided to take leave in the room that the King had offered him. Merlin sighed; glad to be rid of those prying eyes that where just waiting for him to slip up.

"Ah Merlin, your actually on time with my dinner tonight." The prince said, sitting down and waiting for a sneaky comment from Merlin but was disappointed and a little worried when he heard none. Merlin slid the tray of food across the table without a word, then silently began to take out the newly washed pajamas and lay them on top of his bed.

Despite his attempts to look the other way Arthur seemed to find himself drawn to the figure now standing at the door motionlessly looking at nothing in particular, how he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks with those circles under his eyes. How Arthur kept getting the impression that he was about to pass out or fall over and the way he seemed to be so tense that he tendons on his hands and wrist looked ready to snap.

"What?" Merlin said suddenly aware that the prince was staring at him worriedly. Something he had rarely seen him do.

"Oh nothing, it's just that…. Nothing." Arthur stuttered.

"What is it?" Merlin started checking his arms and legs for anything that might be the cause of his staring, not seeing anything unusual he looked quizzically at Arthur.

"It's just that you look like something is bothering you" He said it quietly, also something rare for the prince.

" Oh… well it's just that I was followed around all day by that strange man _Wolf_, he wouldn't leave me alone for one second and it's just annoying that's all." By the end Merlin looked thoroughly annoyed and… was he…. Scared? No. Impossible.

"Well I can get myself ready for bed tonight on my own, you look like you could use some sleep." Arthur said and made a gesture towards the door, dismissing Merlin for the night. Merlin smiled, "thanks Arthur, I'll be here tomorrow bright and early to wake you up." and before the prince could say something like: '_Of course _you will _Mer_lin' He heard the sound of the door closing and Merlin's slow, heavy footfalls down the stairs.

Merlin only just managed to make it to his bed in time, his limbs gave in to exhaustion and he lay as a crumpled heap on the small bed. Before Merlin fell asleep he thought of something that scared him. _Why do I feel so ill? I have done __**less **__work than I usually do and yet I've been almost dead on my feet all day. Ever since that man got close to me, what was it he said? 'I have an eye for these people, sort of like a sixth sense' I have never heard of anyone who could detect magic, even other magical people can't tell if another person is magic or not. _But these ramblings of his mind didn't scare him, but the last thing he thought before he sank into unconsciousness **did**. _But who ever said Wolf played by the rules, for all I know he could have a permanent enchantment on his person that makes any magical being sick, or worse maybe it kills those with strong magic. __**Oh no… **_ And he sank into unconsciousness.

Arthur was very angry the next morning when he woke of his own accord two hours later than he was supposed to be up. _Oh come on Merlin, I gave you the evening off. Surely you could at least come on time you idiot. _

Arthur really was worried, Merlin looked like he was about to collapse on the spot last night, he really hoped that the reason for Merlin's absence was because he was just being lazy but he just had a feeling that it was something more sinister than that.

He stormed into the Physicians' chambers expecting to find Gaus crushing herbs and Merlin still in his bed snoring away happily, but what he saw made him gasp and take an involuntary step backwards.

The sight his eyes where met with would be burned into his memory forever.

_Merlin, _he thought. _What's happened to you?_

_So what do you think? Sorry for leaving you with a bit of a cliffhanger but don't despair! I will post the next chapter soon. _

_P.S: Please review!_


End file.
